


Harmony and Dissonance

by Phoenix7



Series: Chronicles of the Orange Archipelago [2]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pokemon GO
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-21
Updated: 2017-05-04
Packaged: 2018-09-18 22:25:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9405593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Phoenix7/pseuds/Phoenix7
Summary: Fire, Ice and Lightning. The three pillars of the elements, Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres. The Beast of Harmony, Lugia.Many have tried to tame them, but only three have succeeded. Three humans, four Legendary Pokemon of the Orange Islands.Not everyone has given up on chasing the final key.Again, I don't own most characters...there's nothing else reallyall comments are welcome but try to be constructiveDISCLAIMER: THIS WORK IS INCOMPLETE AND WILL TAKE AN EXTREMELY LONG TIME TO UPDATE. I AM ALSO PLANNING TO RE-WRITE IT IF NECESSARY.





	1. The Wrath of Moltres

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Fish71022](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fish71022/gifts).



_“Twins of Fire, Ice and Lightning,_  
_Hear my Creed._  
_Listen to this Warning:_  
_History Must Not Repeat._  
_Bear this in your Mind:_  
_As Darkness shadows Day,_  
_One of you will find_  
_That another has lost her way._  
_Trust None of what you Hear,_  
_And Less of what you See._  
_Above all When you are Near,_  
_Wake not the Beast of the Sea.”_

 

Blanche and Candela were at their usual spots, at opposite ends of the silent common room, neither speaking to the other. Usually, when it was just the two of them in the room, it would be quiet, but today, it seemed to have an ominous quality to it. Like the swirling masses of grey clouds before a storm.  
Candela reflected grimly how different it had been just two days ago. Spark would be there, making everyone cringe at his awful puns. For once, she found that she wouldn't have minded. Having Spark's corny jokes and endless antics was better than having him gone.  
_And it's all my fault._ The thought was quite unbearable. The last she and Spark had spoken was during a raging argument. Someone, apparently from Team Instinct, had been circulating a series of hateful comments about Team Valor and Mystic. And she had taken out her rage on Spark. It wasn't his fault. It never was.

 _“Do something, Spark!” Candela declared, hitting the table and making Spark jump. “Whoever this is, they claim to be from Team Instinct. Your team, your responsibility.”_  
_“This person isn't from Instinct. You said so yourself that you detected that it was from an unregistered device.” Spark replied coolly._  
_“Well as they claim they're from Instinct-”_  
_“No, it was NOT any of the members of Team Instinct!” Spark stood, his face pale and rigid. “Because while the rest of you were so busy tracking down the one behind this, all the Team Instinct members were helping out at the Pokemon centre after the riot!”_  
_“And anyway… you don't need me to find out who it is. You're doing a pretty good job by yourself,” he continued._  
_Candela gaped at Spark, trying to find something else to say._  
_“Well, where were you while your team was helping at the Pokemon Centre?” she finally shot back. “Don't they need your help?”_  
_“No, they don't,” Spark’s voice shook. “I...I resigned. After the riot. Pokemon was supposed to unite us, not divide us. Our teams have been fighting for weeks. I can't go on trying to keep the peace like this,” he finished bleakly. “I'm going.”_  
_Candela's eyes flashed red as she regained her thoughts - and her anger._  
_“Going? And leaving us - leaving everyone - in this mess?” she screamed. “Even if you don't like this fight, you don't have to be such a coward!”_  
_Blanche, sitting at her usual place, seemed to have her eyes on her book, but she was watching. She had seen Candela's eyes flash red, but there was something strange about it._  
_There's no fire, she realised. That means… Candela isn't channeling Moltres’ energy. Then why…_  
_Her eyes widened as she realised. Moltres was channeling Candela's rage, not the other way around._  
That is right, Blanche, _a voice echoed in her head. Soft, but powerful. Articuno. Then the connection broke, and she was alone with her thoughts again._  
_“Fine, then. Go. You wanted it, right?” Candela seemed to be exercising every last bit of self-control to keep from striking Spark._  
_His eyes glowed an eerie yellow and electricity crackled in his palms. “I'm going.”_  
_As she watched Spark disappear through the door, Blanche wondered whether she would ever see him again. But barely one minute passed, and he was back._  
_“There's an egg. In a lab incubator. It's going to hatch,” he panted. His eyes were initially on Candela, but it soon became clear that she hadn't heard a word he had said. “Take care of it for me. Please.” He locked eyes with Blanche, and she nodded, watching Spark, his expression grim and his face bloodless, disappear through the door of the common room again._  
_Candela was still standing where she was, a furious and wild expression on her face._  
_“Candela…?”_  
_As she turned around and realised that Spark wasn't there, her face had a look of dawning horror._  
_“He’s gone?” There was the slightest shred of hope in her tone, that Spark hadn't really left, that it was all a dream. But Blanche had no need to answer her question. One look at the room, and the answer was obvious. Slowly, Candela's clenched hands fell by her side, and her eyes went back to their usual bright gold._

“I have to find Spark.”  
“We don't know where he went,” Blanche replied. “We can't go yet.”  
Candela frowned. “I told him to go. This is my fault and I'm going to make it right.”  
“No. It's my fault. Moltres was channeling your energy, I saw it. But I didn't stop you.”  
“Moltres? That wasn't Moltres…. I meant it when I asked Spark to leave. It was all me. I have to look for him.” Candela's face was set and determined.  
“Okay then…. Good luck.”  
Candela's face fell. “You're not coming?”  
Blanche shook her head. “There's something I need to do first.”


	2. Lugia's Warning

Chapter Two: Lugia's Warning

Spark watched as the three islands got closer and closer, so familiar, yet so different. Ever since he had learned of his bond with Zapdos, visiting the Orange Archipelago had been one of his dreams. Now, there could be only one word to describe his surroundings: mass destruction. Okay, make that _two_ words.

Above him, the Legendary Bird trio was clearly at each other's throats. He could see the top of Ice Island crumbling under a barrage of flame.

 _Spark. Don't be an idiot, please._ Zapdos didn't sound angry, but with Zapdos, one could never tell.

_Spark! I may not attack you, but I can't shield you from Articuno or Moltres!_

Realising the truth of those words, Spark glanced upward again. And it was none too soon, because Moltres, having finished off Ice Island, was streaking towards Lightning Island, shooting random fireballs in his direction. Either Moltres had totally lost it, or… Well, either way it seemed like Candela was still fuming.

A surge of adrenaline rushed through Spark as Moltres got closer and the attacks got more frequent. Rolling sideways and narrowly dodging one attack, a hollow in the rock caught his eye.

Moltres shrieked again and dived straight for him. Vaguely, he recognised the precision of a Flamethrower.

_Candela's signature move._

“Snap out of it,” he thought to himself. “There's a raging Legendary Pokemon after you.”

He dived sideways to avoid yet another fireball as the ground shook with the force of the attacks.

He knew there was a cave somewhere, he had seen the exit on the other side of the island. But the question was, did he _want_ to go in. There was no doubt that he needed it, but….

_Hurry up! I'm coming, but I doubt I can hold Moltres off for long…. GO!_

It was now or never. Taking a deep breath, Spark ran into the cave just as the entrance collapsed in an avalanche of rocks.

_Spark…._

It wasn't the sharp and clear voice of Zapdos. This new voice was lower, and had quite an ethereal sense to it.

“Lugia….” he breathed. It seemed strange, and yet wonderful, that Lugia had chosen to speak to _him_.

_Yes. Tell Blanche and Candela everything. Do not worry. The moment will come._

_What is it?_ The urgency in Lugia's voice worried Spark. What had happened?

_You are not safe, even here. There is someone who set foot on these islands with the intention to capture, and to kill. If you and your friends cannot manage to unite the three Legendary Birds, then, sunshine child, all will be lost…._

_The voice faded into the depths of the cave, but the words continued to play in Spark's mind. Who was it who had traveled there with the intention to kill? Whose lives would this person claim?_

Capture... there was no doubt that the ones risking capture were the Legendary Bird trio. And Lugia.

But would Blanche and Candela reach in time?

Spark clicked his Raichu’s Pokeball, hugging it close.

“I sure hope so,” he whispered, as Raichu's cheeks sparked with electricity that, for some strange reason, never hurt him even once.


	3. Light and Shadows

What was it? Even with the three Legendary Birds fighting overhead, even with the frigid wind blowing, Blanche could see the faint, orange, pulsing light. It seemed to draw her in like a moth to a candle flame. It was at the highest point of Lightning Island, a stupid place to go when the Legendaries were battling. But her curiosity got the better of her, and for once, she found herself following her heart and her instincts. Like Spark. 

Spark… Where was he? He didn’t seem to be anywhere on her radar, so his communicator, at best, was damaged, and at worst, was switched off. Blanche fought against Articuno’s icy winds as she climbed higher. Why didn’t Articuno want her to reach that point? Was it concerned for her safety? No, that was definitely out of the question. She held the sling bag at her side close, careful not to jostle or hit it. The light was getting closer, but it… wasn’t a light. There was someone standing precariously close to the edge, the fierce orange aura glowing brightly around her. Blanche was sure she knew who it was, but she didn’t call out. Even though Candela’s figure was discernible, she had no idea whether it would be Candela who heard her, or Moltres.

Her finger ran over the zipper of the black sling bag she was carrying, making sure that it was not completely closed, but enough to keep its interior warm and continued making her way towards the peak. 

Now standing directly behind Candela, she could finally see the orange light clearly. It was flickering dimly, almost going out but then flaring up again. It closely resembled the fire on Moltres’ head, wings and tail.  _ Too closely, _ she thought with a shudder. Candela, or Moltres, seemed to be talking to herself.

“He doesn’t want to be found… He’s here, but he really doesn’t want to be found…”

Blanche breathed out slowly. That was definitely Candela, talking about Spark. Moltres did not have control over her friend.

“He might even be running away from us - no, from  _ me _ ,” Candela continued as though she was in a dream. 

“Then,” Blanche said resolutely, stepping forward, “we just have to find him ourselves.”

Candela jumped in shock, almost falling off the ledge when an icy hand closed around her wrist. Blanche’s eyes were glowing a strange color, something she couldn’t quite put her finger on. It was somewhere between their usual pale green and the sharp blue of Articuno’s feathers.

“What did you  _ do _ to your eyes?” she asked warily.

Blanche frowned. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “Maybe it’s because Articuno is trying to get inside my head, and I’m shutting it out. My guess is since I’m in such close range to Articuno that connection was inevitable in the end.”

Candela stared hard at her. If Blanche could shut a Legendary Pokemon out, who knew what other secrets she might have hidden as successfully for all these years. She’d only known Blanche and Spark for around 10 months, and yet they had become as close to her as Flareon. Talking about Spark… 

She checked her radar again, knowing full well that his trademark symbol, a Pikachu, would not be there. Despite knowing what she would see, it hit her hard that if Spark was still alive in this raging battle, he probably disabled his communicator. 

“Come on,” Blanche said urgently. “We’ve got to get under cover, quick!”

Candela couldn’t help noticing that as she said that, she wasn’t watching the trio above practically bombing each other, but at the insulated bag she was carrying.

“What’s that?” she asked curiously. The bag was Spark’s, and knowing Blanche, she wouldn’t take it unless she had reason to. However, Blanche only shrugged in reply. Candela groaned, annoyed, but Blanche was already leading the way down the slope.

“Where do you reckon Spark is?” she asked, trying to lighten the tense mood. However, she soon regretted it.

“Who knows?” Blanche replied. “If he’s still alive in this mess… he would have taken shelter somewhere,” she added as the ground trembled with explosions.

_ If _ he was still alive. The thought was chilling and scary. What if… no. No. She couldn’t bear to finish her sentence, and Blanche trailed off uncertainly. They both knew that unless Spark had taken refuge early, the probability of his survival was quite low.

Without any warning, Candela disappeared from Blanche’s view. “Candela!” she called, scanning the surroundings anxiously. 

“Hey, it’s a cave!” came Candela’s voice from somewhere near her. “Come on, here-” Her friend scrambled out of the hole, looking happier than she was despite the circumstances. “Spark should be in here somewhere!”

Blanche looked down into the small, dark tunnel. “Are you sure?” Her voice had a hint of fear to it.

Candela smiled reassuringly. “Hey, I’m willing to go down there to find Spark even if it means being resigned to the fact that there are probably spiders  _ everywhere _ .”

Their eyes met, and a thought was shared between them. No matter what, they would do all they could, together, to find Spark and bring him home.

And now, together, they disappeared into the shadowy grey of the underground cave.


	4. A Spark of Hope

Spark didn’t know how long he’d been in the cave, only that the battle was definitely continuing to rage overhead. And one more devastating fact: he was hopelessly disorientated. In other words, completely lost. With the electricity flickering on Raichu’s cheeks to guide him, he had been wandering around, trying to find a way out. Raichu itself, other than being a useful lamp, was not of much help. It was totally disgruntled at Spark and, he could tell, really wanted to revert to its old Pikachu habit of just dropping dead on the spot and taking a nap.

“Hey, don’t give up,” he said, more to himself than the little Pokemon. “We’ll be okay.”

“Raii…chu….” it sighed in defeat. After such a long walk, the hopelessness of it all was starting to get to both of them. Spark hated seeing the little rodent looking like that, and he bent down, hand outstretched. “Here,” he said gently, “hop on.” He hadn't said that to Raichu in ages, he suddenly realised. 

“Rai?” it asked doubtfully.

“I know you're a bit too big for this,” Spark said, grinning, “but hop on, anyway, pal.”

“Rai! Rai chu rai!” Raichu protested.

“Come on, buddy. You won't benefit from stumbling around like this in the dark. Plus, you need to recharge.” Spark pinched its cheeks softly. “See? Acting as my personal lightbulb has seriously depleted your electric sacs. You need rest.” 

“Raiiiii!” For a moment, the entire tunnel was filled with the bright yellow electric attack, but it didn't last long and the pair were enveloped in the pale light of Raichu's sparks once more.

“Don't try and prove me wrong,” Spark said in mock sternness to the panting Pokémon. “Raichu! Return!” In a great show of defiance, Raichu leaped nimbly around the red light.

“Raichu!” he cried in frustration. 

“Rai,” came the reply with a pout. Raichu turned on the spot for a moment, then, with one short glance behind, it disappeared into a side tunnel, leaving Spark to stare after it.

“RAICHU!” he shouted in a panic. “Raichu! Where are you going? Don't leave me here!”

“Rai! Rai chu rai!”

The familiar voice floated back from inside the tunnel. It was faint, but the message was clear. 

_ Follow me. _

Spark sighed. What choice did he have? He had, indeed, been relying heavily on Raichu's electricity and its good sense of smell to try and find his way out of the tunnel. In fact, if not for Raichu's insistence that they bring snacks along, they might have already starved to death. Listening for the faint sounds of Raichu's footsteps, Spark plunged after it through the gap and was immediately swallowed by darkness.

Left, right, right, left, straight ahead, left again, then left, then right… The path they took twisted and turned, winding through what Spark was sure was the heart of the tunnel, and he couldn’t help wishing that Blanche and Candela would come. But it seemed to him like he’d been waiting for someone to save him since forever, and this time, he just had to get out of it by himself. And he had to trust Raichu. It had been with him since it was just a Pichu, and he hoped that this wouldn’t be the last he saw of his friend.

Right, left, left, right…

“Hey,” Spark called to Raichu, “haven’t we been here before?”

Raichu paused for a moment, considering… Then, with a quick shake of its head, it ran away again.

Left, right, straight, right…

The narrow tunnel opened up into a wide passage, but the light was just as dim. Spark could just make out Raichu’s tiny flickers of light, a few metres ahead of him. 

“Rai...CHUUUUU!” The passage was filled with electricity as Spark shielded his eyes. “Rai… CHUUUUU! CHUUUUU! CHUUUUU!” 

“What on earth was that about?” Spark asked. 

“Rai! Rai! Chu!” Raichu replied excitedly, gesturing towards the other end of the passage, where two shadows were slowly moving towards him.   
“We’ve  _ got _ to find out what made that electricity,” a voice said. “I don’t think this is the natural habitat of electric-type Pokemon.”

“You’ll be surprised,” someone else replied. “I once read about a Diglett rancher who transported Electrode and Voltorb through an underground passage like this.”

“That was a  _ Diglett _ tunnel,” the first voice insisted impatiently. “This tunnel is made of  _ rock _ .”

There was no mistaking who those voices belonged to, but Spark didn’t want to get his hopes too high. 

“Rai...CHUUU!” 

The yellow light cast the two people into better view, and Spark squinted, trying to make out their faces.

“Hey! Quit that!” one of them yelled.

Now he was sure he knew who they were.

“Candela? Blanche?”


	5. The Egg Pokemon

“Spark!” Candela said joyfully, pulling him into a bone-crushing hug. Then a quiet whisper in his ear, much too soft, he thought, for it to be really Candela. Maybe he  _ was  _ dreaming…

“Please, don’t ever go again…”

Wiggling out of her tight embrace, Spark grinned up at his friend. “I thought you two weren’t ever going to come,” he joked, trying to lighten the mood, but mostly to distract everyone from the fact that small tears had formed in his eyes.

Candela frowned heavily at him. “It’s not funny!” she said indignantly. “We’ve been wandering around here for  _ hours _ !”

“Yeah,” Blanche said drily, shooting an icy glare at Candela as she opened the black bag she was carrying, “because  _ some stubborn idiot _ refused to let me use my radar to find you.”

“Well,” Spark admitted, “she does have a point. You might have woken a group of Zubat, or even an Onix. And,” he hurried on, “I know your water Pokemon can handle any Onix, but what about Zubat, or maybe Golbat?” 

“Yes, the thing is, Spark, since you’ve been wandering around one side of this underground network for the past day or so, and we’ve been wandering around the other side for the past few hours, and we happen to meet each other, don’t you think that collectively, we should have covered the majority of the area by now? Considering that none of us have met any Zubat, Golbat or Onix, then the chances of there being any seem quite slim.”

Spark shrugged, grinning. He didn’t even care whether he was right or not, for him, it just felt so good to be able to banter with his fellow team leaders again. It felt like… like home. The momentarily peaceful silence was interrupted by Candela, who burst out, “But that’s exactly why we  _ shouldn’t _ be here! Even the Pokemon don’t live here!”

“Only for a while more,” Blanche said calmly, taking an egg out of the bag and placing it beside Spark. “After this hatches, we’ll try to find our way out.”

“Where did you get that?” Candela asked, her tone shifting to one of curiosity. It was unusually small for a Pokemon egg, and was several shades paler, too. Instead of being patterned with the usual orange, green or purple spots indicating the amount of incubation it required, this egg was covered with strange, rounded geometrical shapes in varying sizes. Some of these shapes were coloured red, while others were blue. It seemed to be trembling slightly.

“A Trainer found it,” Spark replied without taking his eyes off the egg, which he had resting on his lap. “I asked Blanche to take it here, because, well… you were too mad to even hear what I was saying,” he concluded, in a slightly regretful tone.

“It’s very strange,” Blanche said, watching the egg intently. “I’ve never seen one like that. Whichever Pokemon hatches from this egg, it’s going to be very unique.”

As if on cue, the egg gave a violent tremble, seeming to make every effort to prove just how unique it was.

“It’s hatching,” Spark said suddenly. Everyone was silent, just waiting… Even Raichu stood in front of the egg, its head cocked to one side as a tiny crack formed from the top and stretched toward the middle. Like a flowing river cutting through a canyon, another, wider crack started at the middle and snaked across, cutting a jagged path through the shell. The top half split apart, revealing something pale beige that looked like a closed flower. Then, as it opened, tiny eyes and a small mouth appeared, 

and short arms and larger, flat feet stretched out from the shell. The tiny Pokemon’s innocent eyes roved around the cavern, finally resting on Spark’s baby blue eyes. Its rounded mouth curved into a big smile, and its arms waved happily as Spark picked it up.

“Toge toge toge prrri!” it said excitedly.

“Hey, little one,” he said gently, stroking its crown-like head. 

“What Pokemon is that?” Candela asked. “I’ve never seen anything like it before.”

“That’s a… Togepi,” Blanche said, sounding stunned. “It’s one of the baby Pokemon, evolving into Togetic, then Togekiss. According to the Pokedex, Togepi stores happiness inside its shell and shares it with others. Togepi becomes very attached to the first person it sets its eyes on, believing that person to be its mother. Togepi’s known move is Metronome, which summons another move at random, including Teleport and Leech Seed. It’s a Pokemon that has never been found in Kanto or the Orange Archipelago before.”

“It’s cute,” Spark said while bouncing a very happy Togepi up and down on his lap. “I wonder how it got here.”

“Where did you say that Trainer found - Aah!” As Candela stood up, the whole cave shook with tremendous force, and she was thrown backwards onto the rock she had been sitting on. Dust began to settle on the group as small rocks fell from the ceiling. Dodging the debris, his heart thudding painfully and with only one thought in his mind, Spark quickly placed Togepi into the black bag, and, with Raichu on his shoulder, he yelled, “Let’s GO!”

“Why? Shouldn’t we stay here for cover?” Blanche asked quizzically.

“We can’t!” Spark shouted urgently. “This isn’t a normal earthquake! It’s Moltres…”

“What!?” Candela said doubtfully.

“Please! Just trust me… we can’t stay here.” Spark said, biting his lip anxiously. 

“Too late,” Blanche replied. Just as they all reached the edge of the cavern, a huge chunk of the ceiling, charred badly, fell away. They could see the red and white flames of Moltres through the gap as the Flame Pokemon, satisfied with the damage it had done to Lightning Island, flew away to rejoin the aerial battle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you've enjoyed reading my work so far, and thanks for reading!  
> I'm not that clear on the spelling of Togepi's speech, but I do know that in the last syllable, an extra 'r' sound is added between the 'p' and the 'I'. If you have any suggestions on the correct spelling do let me know in the comments.


	6. History Repeats

“Are you sure that’s the best way out?” Spark said uncertainly, as Raichu, who was leading the group, waved a paw at a narrow tunnel. Raichu frowned at its Trainer for doubting it, but before it could reply, Togepi, still squeaking happily, slipped from Spark’s arms and dashed into the tunnel. They could hear cries of “Toge toge prri!” echoing back to them.

“Well, I guess that settles it,” Candela said, with a final sort of tone in her voice. “We go in there.”

“Rai!” Raichu pumped a fist triumphantly into the air and scampered  off after  Togepi, calling: “Rai! Rai chu rai!”

“What is it saying?” Blanche asked, from behind them.

Spark rolled his eyes. “It says,  _ see? I told you to listen to me! _ ”

“Arcanine, I choose you! See if you can find a way out of here,” Candela called to the large dog-like Pokemon. Nodding, it turned and dashed after Raichu and Togepi, barking loudly back to them. Candela tucked Arcanine’s Pokeball back into her belt, saying as she did so, “ _ Now _ this settles it. Let’s go.”

The strange party was bathed in shafts of sunlight as they reached the end of the long tunnel, making their shadows look rather creepy. With every step they took, they could feel the temperature dropping. Clouds of vapour formed as their breath steamed in the chilly air. The stalactites and stalagmites that had formed all around them were cold to the touch, and a thin coat of frost had covered the majority of the rocks. 

The harsh light, reflected off the many columns of ice protruding from the ground as they  stepped out of the tunnel. They were on another island, and at the centre of the island, a towering, ice-covered volcano loomed. 

“We’ve somehow crossed over to Ice Island,” Blanche said, taking in the view around her. Being in the centre of the three islands of fire, ice and lightning, Ice Island had a direct perspective on what was going on. It wasn’t pretty. The three legendary birds seemed to have no aim but to take control of the whole archipelago - and/or dive-bomb each other out of the sky. 

“Legends say that when the three birds fight like this, Pokemon from all over Kanto will come. They’ll want to help. But this place is empty,” Spark said wonderingly.

“RAI…..CHU…..” Raichu’s voice was calling to them from the other side of the island. And once they dashed over, they saw what had been hidden from them all along.

A massive airship had been engineered to float in the ocean behind Ice Island, with only a small rod poking through the rippling surface of the water. It would have been indistinguishable from a further distance away. But the clear waters of the sea revealed everything, its width, depth… and a very small, round Pokemon, dwarfed by the underwater ship, playing near the edge of the water.

“Rai chu rai!” Raichu called, starting to run towards Togepi. Spark followed, ignoring the sinking feeling that he had. Togepi was only a baby - and who knew what was in that ship?  _ Or who _ , he thought with a shiver.

“Gotcha!” he shouted, lunging forward from a couple metres away to grab hold of the tiny Pokemon. “Thank goodness you’re okay -” As he stood up, brushing sand off his clothes, there was a  _ click _ , and a hatch opened beneath his feet.

 

“We just found him.” Candela looked stunned by the turn of events. “Now he’s gone off somewhere again…”

“Arc!” Arcanine barked, bounding off towards the spot where Spark, Togepi and Raichu had disappeared. Moments later, it too had vanished beneath the powdery snow, with a last surprised yelp.

“Arcanine! Arcanine!” Candela shouted, running towards the same spot.

A pearly white Pokemon materialised in front of her, waving its wide tail to stop her progress.

“Dew! Gong!” it honked, pushing her back where she had been standing with a sharp poke from its horn. Then it curled up on the snow nearby, watching her and Blanche with a big brown eye.

“What was  _ that  _ for?” she said irritably to Dewgong.

“Be more polite, Candela, or Dewgong might just leave you stranded down there,” Blanche said, casting an eye over the choppy waters surrounding the islands. “It’s the only one who can get us into that ship without falling for the trap.”

“I can swim, I don’t need Dewgong,” Candela huffed, looking at the ship. “Besides, it’s so close to the island - we could just  _ walk _ in there -”

“And get caught?”

“How do you know there’s a way in from down there?” she asked, now watching the occasional, identically-dressed person exit the ship through the far-off bridge.  “What if that bridge is the only way in? Then we’d -”

“We’d be able to test out the strength of Dewgong’s Horn Attack and Cloyster’s Spike Cannon,” Blanche finished, in the same, annoyingly calm manner.

“Yes, but we could still battle those people down there, on the bridge, and take their uniforms…”

“Therefore making one of the most dramatic sneak-ins ever.”

“Okay… you win.” Candela went over to where Blanche was stroking Dewgong, which was waiting at the edge of the water, alert and tense. “It’s okay,” she heard her friend saying, in a vastly different way from her usual manner. “We can do this.” It wasn’t the first time, but she couldn’t help being surprised at how much younger Blanche suddenly looked, in that moment when a small smile appeared on her face. It seemed to have worked, because Dewgong was sliding gracefully into the water with renewed confidence, and she hurried to hold on to it, shivering in the freezing water.

“N-no one c-could swim in t-t-this,” she said through her respirator, her whole body shaking from the cold.

“I told you Dewgong was the only one who could help us. Cloyster’s strong, but it hates anyone holding onto it,” was the only reply, which was as frigid as the waters Dewgong was cutting through. After that, there was silence until they reached the bottom of the ship. 

“It-it’s imp-penatratable,” Candela said, looking at the sealed bottom of the ship.

“It looks familiar…” Blanche was saying slowly.

“It doesn’t,” Candela replied. “I’ve never seen it before.”

“It’s in all the history books of the Orange Islands - oh!” 

Candela cast a glance at her. “History books?”

“Yes,” she said impatiently. “It’s the old airship that Lawrence III, a Pokemon collector, used when he was trying to capture Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres and Lugia. But it crashed… it should be in quite bad shape by now.”

“Dewgong!” Dewgong called from near the ship, swimming around something in circles.

“What is it?” Blanche called, grabbing Candela’s arm and swimming over. 

“Dew!”

“A door!” Candela said, straightening up and looking closely at it. “I dunno about this, Blanche - it’s really thick -”

“Dewgong, try a Horn Attack on that door!”

“Dew… gong!” Dewgong backed away from the door, then, folding its flippers and stretching its tail out like a long, thin fan.

“Candela, move away. Dewgong’s Horn Attack is powerful enough to skewer you, in the right conditions,” Blanche warned.

She backed away, but kept her eyes on the white spot a distance away that was Dewgong. To her surprise, instead of going straight for the door, it seemed to be spinning. A tunnel of water was forming around it, surrounding it such that only a shadow could be seen. Then, with amazing speed surpassed only by that of her Dragonite, the tunnel of water rushed towards them, developing slowly into an arrow shape. As it got closer, a glint could be seen near the tip, which was surely the horn. Then, with a loud boom, it crashed into the exact spot Blanche had pointed out.

“Now we wait and see,” Blanche said, watching the swirling water around the door.

“Now we wait and see.”

**Author's Note:**

> WARNING: This work contains spoilers for the others in the series and vice versa. There are also cookies for other books and movies/shows. However, they are mostly rather subtle. Do not try to look for them as they will be clear to you soon (hopefully).


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